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Radiographic comparison of cross‐sectional lumbar pedicle fill when placing screws with navigation versus free‐hand technique
Author(s) -
Pirris Stephen M.,
Nottmeier Eric W.,
O'Brien Michael,
Rahmathulla Gazanfar,
Pichelmann Mark
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the international journal of medical robotics and computer assisted surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1478-596X
pISSN - 1478-5951
DOI - 10.1002/rcs.1666
Subject(s) - lumbar , coronal plane , medicine , fixation (population genetics) , radiography , surgery , spinal fusion , orthodontics , radiology , population , environmental health
Background Pedicle screws are often used for spinal fixation. Increasing the percentage of pedicle that is filled with the screw presumably yields greater fixation. It has not been shown whether spinal navigation helps surgeons more completely fill their instrumented pedicles. Methods Fifty consecutive patients from each arm (navigated and free‐hand) were retrospectively reviewed. The cross‐sectional area of each instrumented lumbar pedicle and screw were measured using an automatic area calculation tool. The coronal images and measurements were blinded to the surgeons. Results The instrumented pedicles in the navigated patients were significantly more filled by screws than the pedicles in the non‐navigated patients (P < 0.001). Conclusion Obtaining a higher cross‐sectional percentage fill of the pedicle with a screw is expected to provide greater spinal fixation in instrumented fusion surgery. This study shows that utilizing spinal navigation helps to more completely fill the pedicles that are being instrumented. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.